Stow in floor seat assembly with main lateral displacement

ABSTRACT

A seat assembly for supporting an occupant above a floor of an automotive vehicle including a cushion and a riser coupled between the floor of the vehicle and the seat cushion for allowing manual lateral displacement of the seat cushion within the vehicle between a plurality of lateral positions. The seat cushion is pivotally coupled to front legs for movement between a seating position and a forwardly dumped position. The front legs are interconnected to a foot bracket. The foot bracket includes a hook portion slidably engaged with a rod fixedly secured to the floor of the vehicle for manual movement of the seat cushion between the plurality of lateral positions. A cinching hook is pivotally coupled to the foot bracket for movement between locked and unlocked positions. In the locked position, the cinching hook clamps the rod between the hook portion and the cinching hook for resisting lateral displacement of the seat cushion along the rod. In the unlocked position, the cinching hook is subsequently disengaged from the rod to allow lateral displacement of the seat cushion along the rod. A link extends between the seat cushion and the cinching hook for moving the cinching hook between the locked and unlocked positions in response to movement of the seat cushion between the locked and the unlocked positions.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to a seat assembly for an automotive vehicle, andmore particularly, to a riser assembly for manually displacing the seatcushion laterally within the vehicle.

2. Description of the Related Art

Automotive vehicles include seat assemblies for supporting occupantswithin the vehicle. Seat assemblies include a seat cushion and a seatback operatively coupled to the seat cushion by a recliner mechanism forallowing selective pivotal adjustment of die seat back relative to theseat cushion between a plurality of reclined seating positions.Typically, the seat back is also movable between any one of the reclinedseating positions and a generally horizontal, forwardly stowed positionto present a load floor surface on the back of the seat back.

It is known in the automotive seating art to mount a riser assemblybetween the seat cushion and the floor of the vehicle for moving theseat assembly between a seating position with the seat cushion spacedabove the floor of the vehicle and a forwardly stowed position with theseat cushion disposed generally forward of the seating position andlying against the floor of the vehicle. It is also known for such ariser assembly to allow movement of the seat assembly between theseating position and a stowed position within a recess in the floor ofthe vehicle. However, it remains desirable to have a riser assembly thatallows movement of the seat assembly between the seating position and astowed position within a recess substantially laterally offset from theseating position.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to one aspect of the invention, a seat assembly is providedfor supporting an occupant above a floor of an automotive vehicle. Theseat assembly includes a seat cushion. A front leg is pivotally coupledto the seat cushion for movement of the seat cushion between a seatingposition and a forwardly dumped position. A foot bracket isinterconnected to the front leg and has a hook portion slidablysupported by a rod fixedly secured to the floor of the vehicle forselective movement of the seat cushion along the rod between a pluralityof lateral positions. A cinching hook is pivotally coupled to the footbracket for movement between a locked position for cinching the rodbetween the cinching hook and the hook portion of the foot bracket toresist lateral movement of the seat cushion between the plurality oflateral positions and an unlocked position to allow movement of the seatcushion along the rod between the plurality of lateral positions. A linkextends between the seat cushion and the cinching hook for moving thecinching hook between the locked and unlocked positions in response tomovement of the seat cushion between the seating and forwardly dumpedpositions, respectively.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Advantages of the present invention will be readily appreciated as thesame becomes better understood by reference to the following detaileddescription when considered in connection with the accompanying drawingswherein:

FIG. 1 is a side view of a seat assembly incorporating a riser assemblyaccording to one aspect of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the seat assembly;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged partial view of the seat assembly; and

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the seat assembly according to analternative embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to the figures, a seat assembly for supporting an occupantabove a floor of an automotive vehicle is generally indicated at 10 inFIG. 1. The seat assembly 10 includes a scat cushion 12 and a seat back(not shown) pivotally coupled to the seat cushion 12 for movementbetween a generally upright seating position and a forwardly folded flatposition overlying the seat cushion 12. A riser assembly 14 releasablyinterconnects the seat assembly 10 to the floor of the vehicle.Described in greater detail below, the riser assembly 14 allows movementof the seat cushion 12 between a seating position A and a forwardlydumped position B with the seat cushion 12 extending generallylongitudinally upright from the riser assembly 14. The riser assembly 14also allows movement of the seat cushion 12 between the forwardly dumpedposition B and a forwardly stowed position C lying generally flat uponthe floor of the vehicle. The riser assembly 14 further allows the seatassembly 10 to be selectively laterally displaced along the floor of thevehicle.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the riser assembly 14 includes generallyparallel front legs 16 each extending between upper 18 and lower 20ends. The upper end 18 is pivotally coupled at the location of the firstassist spring 19, to a front end 22 of the seat cushion 12 for movementof the seat cushion 12 between the seating A and forwardly dumped Bpositions. A first assist spring 19 extends between the upper end 18 ofeach the front leg 16 and the seat cushion 12 for pivotally biasing theseat cushion 12 toward the forwardly dumped position B. The lower end 20of each front leg 16 is pivotally coupled to a respective foot bracket24 for movement of the front legs 16 between a support position forsupporting the seat cushion 12 in the seating position A, as shown inthe FIGS. 2 and 3, and a stowed position extending generallylongitudinally along the floor of the vehicle. Each foot bracket 24extends between front 26 and rear 28 hook portions. The front 26 andrear 28 hook portions are slidably engaged with generally parallel front30 and rear 32 rods, respectively, for selective movement of said seatcushion 12 between a plurality of lateral positions within the vehicle.The front 30 and rear 32 rods are fixedly secured in a lateralorientation to the floor of the vehicle by any suitable means, such aswelding or bolting. The front hook portion (26) comprises an arcuatemember adapted to engage an upper portion of the front rod (30). Thecinching hook (40) comprises an arcuate member adapted to engage a lowerportion of the front rod (30). The front hook portion (26) and cinchinghook (40) cooperate to securely engage the front rod (30). The rear hookportion (28) comprises a member having a unshaped slot adapted to engagethe rear rod (32) for sliding movement therein. Preferably, rubber orpolymeric bumpers 27, 29 are fixedly secured to both the front 26 andrear 28 hook portions for minimizing vibration between the foot brackets24 and the front 30 and rear 32 rods.

The floor brackets 24 are fixedly secured to opposite sides of a centralbracket 33. A second assist spring 34 extends between the lower end 20of each front leg 16 and the central bracket 33 for biasing the frontlegs 16 toward the stowed position. A cross member 36 extends laterallyin the vehicle between the front legs 16 for stabilizing the movement ofthe front legs 16 between the support and stowed positions.

A cinching hook 40 is pivotally assembled by a pivot pin 143 to the footbracket 24 adjacent the front hook 26 for movement between a locked andunlocked position. In the locked position, the cinching hook 40cooperates with the front hook portion 26 to bindingly cinch the frontrod 30 for resisting lateral displacement of the seat assembly 10 alongthe front 30 and rear 32 rods. In the unlocked position, the cinchinghook 40 is substantially disengaged from the front rod 30 to allowmanual lateral displacement of the seat assembly 10 along the front 30and rear 32 rods. A biasing member 42 is coupled between the footbracket 24 and the cinching hook 40 for biasing the cinching hook 40toward the locked position.

A link 44 extends longitudinally between an upper end 46 pivotallycoupled to the seat cushion 12 and a lower end 48 pivotally coupled tothe cinching hook 40 for moving the cinching hook 40 between the lockedand unlocked positions in response to movement of the seat cushion 12between the seating A and forwardly dumped B positions.

The riser assembly 14 also includes generally parallel rear legs 50extending between upper 52 and lower 54 portions. The upper portion 52of the rear legs 50 are pivotally coupled to the seat cushion 12 formovement of the rear legs 50 between a support position, as shown inFIGS. 2 and 3, and a stowed position aligned longitudinally along thebottom of the seat cushion 12. The lower portion 54 includes a latchhook 56 for selectively locking the rear legs 50 to a pin fixedlysecured to the floor of the vehicle, as known by those of ordinary skillin the art. A link 60 extends between a front end 62 pivotally coupledto one of the front legs 16 and a rear end 64 pivotally coupled to oneof the rear legs 50 for automatically moving the rear legs 50 betweenthe support and stowed positions in response to pivotal movement of thescat cushion 12 relative to the front legs 16 between the seating A andforwardly dumped B positions. The effective length of the link 60shortens as the seat cushion 12 is moved to the forwardly dumpedposition thereby pulling and pivoting the rear legs 50 to the stowedposition.

In use, the front 16 and rear 50 legs extend generally upright in thesupport position to support the seat cushion 12 in the seating positionA. The location of the link 44 associated with the cinching hook infront of the pivot point of the seat cushion relative to the front legs16 pulls the link 44 to maintain the locked cinch hook 40 when in theseating position. The link 44 pulls the cinching hook 40 toward thelocked position against the force applied by the biasing member 42. Thefront rod 30 is cinched between the cinching hook 40 and the front hookportion 26 preventing manual lateral movement of the seat assembly alongthe front 30 and rear 32 rods. The bumper 27 is compressed between thefront hook portion 26 and the front rod 30 to minimize noise caused byvibration therebetween.

To move the seat cushion 12 between the seating A and forwardly dumped Bpositions, the latch hook 56 is released from the pin fixedly secured tothe floor by suitable releasing means, such as a release lever, ascommonly known by those skilled in the art. The seat cushion 12 is thenfreely pivotally movable between the seating A and forwardly dumped Bpositions. When the seat cushion 12 is moved to the forwardly dumpedposition B, the link 60 responsively pulls the rear legs 50 to thestowed position. Movement of the seat cushion 12 toward the forwardlydumped position B is assisted by the first assist spring 19. The link 44is urged generally downwardly, as viewed in the figures, to move thecinching hook 40 to the unlocked position in response to the pivotalmovement of the seat cushion 12 toward the forwardly dumped position B.Thus, while the seat cushion 12 is in the forwardly dumped position B,the seat cushion 12 is manually displaceable along the front 30 and rear32 rods. Further, while the seat cushion 12 is in the forwardly dumpedposition B, the seat cushion 12 with the seat back in the flat positionis movable to the forwardly stowed position C by pivotal movement of thefront legs 16 from the support position to the stowed position. Movementtoward the forwardly stowed position C is assisted by the second assistspring 34.

The seat cushion 12 may be returned to the forwardly dumped position Bby rotating the front legs 16 toward the support position against thebias of the second assist spring 34. From the forwardly dumped positionB, the seat cushion 12 may be pivotally moved to the seating position Aagainst the bias of the first assist spring 19. While the seat cushion12 is moved to the seating position A, the link 60 responsively urgesthe rear legs 50 to the support position from the stowed position. Thelink 44 is urged generally upwardly to move the cinching hook 40 towardthe locked position to prevent lateral movement of the seat cushion 12along the front 30 and rear 32 rods.

While the latch hook 56 is released from the pin fixedly secured to thefloor, the seat cushion 12 may be manually laterally displaced along thefront 30 and rear 32 rods by lifting the seat cushion 12 partiallytoward the forwardly dumped position enough to relieve the cinchingaction upon the front rod 30 between the cinching hook 40 and the fronthook portion 26. When a desired lateral position is found, the seatcushion 12 may be allowed to return to the seating position A. The latchhook 56 lockingly engages the pin fixedly secured to the floor to lockthe seat cushion 12 in the seating position A.

An alternative embodiment of the riser assembly is generally indicatedat 114 in FIG. 4. The front legs 16 are pivotally coupled to a supportbracket 133 for pivotal movement of the seat cushion 12 between theforwardly dumped position B and the forwardly stowed position C. Thesupport bracket 133 is fixedly secured to a track assembly 130 fixedlysecured in a lateral orientation to the floor of the vehicle.

More specifically, the track assembly 130 includes a lower track 132fixedly secured to the floor of the vehicle and an upper track 134slidably engaged to the lower track 132 for sliding movement between aplurality of lateral positions within the vehicle. A locking mechanism(not shown) is coupled between the lower 132 and upper 134 tracks forselectively locking the upper track 134 in any one of the plurality oflateral positions. The locking mechanism is manually unlocked by anysuitable release mechanism, such as a bowden cable and lever.Alternatively, the locking mechanism is coupled to the seat cushion 12by a link (not shown), such as a rod or a bowden cable, for selectivelyunlocking the locking mechanism in response to movement of the seatcushion 12 between the seating A and forwardly dumped position B. Thetrack assembly 130 and the locking mechanism may be of any suitable typecommonly known by those of ordinary skill in the art.

The invention has been described in an illustrative manner, and it is tobe understood that the terminology, which has been used, is intended tobe in the nature of words of description rather than of limitation.

Many modification and variations of the present invention are possiblein light of the above teachings. It is, therefore, to be understood thatwithin the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practicedother than as specifically described.

1. A seat assembly (10) adapted to be coupled to front and rear rods(20, 32) attached to a floor of a vehicle, the seat assembly (10)comprising: a seat cushion (12); front legs (16) pivotally coupled tothe seat cushion (12); a foot bracket (24) attached at a lower end (28)of the front legs (16), the foot bracket (24) comprising front and rearhook portions (26, 28) associated with the front and rear rods (30, 32)respectively; a cinching hook (40) attached to the foot bracket (24)adjacent the front hook portion (26), the cinching hook (40) and fronthook portion (26) cooperating to reversibly engage the front rod (30);and a first link (44) extending between the seat cushion (12) and thecinching hook (40) wherein the cinching hook (40) is actuated about thefront rod (30) in response to pivotal movement of the seat cushion (12)about the front legs (16).
 2. The seat assembly (10) of claim 1 whereinthe front hook portion (26) comprises an arcuate member adapted toengage an upper portion of the front rod (30) and wherein the cinchinghook (40) comprises an arcuate member adapted to engage a lower portionof the front rod (30), whereby the front hook portion (26) and cinchinghook (40) cooperate to securely engage the front rod (30).
 3. The seatassembly (10) of claim 1 wherein the rear hook portion (28) comprises amember having a unshaped slot adapted to engage the rear rod (32) forsliding movement therein.
 4. The seat assembly (10) of claim 1 furtherincluding a first assist spring (19) associated with the front legs (16)and seat cushion (12) for biasing the seat cushion (12) to a forwarddumped position.
 5. The seat assembly (10) of claim 1 further includinga central bracket (33) attached to the foot bracket (24).
 6. The seatassembly (10) of claim 5 further including a second assist spring (34)associated with the central bracket (33) and front legs (16) for biasingthe front legs (16) towards a stowed position.
 7. The seat assembly (10)of claim 1 further including a biasing member (42) associated with thefoot bracket (24) and the cinching hook (40) for biasing the cinchinghook (40) into engagement with the front rod (30).
 8. The seat assembly(10) of claim 1 wherein the front and rear hook portions (26, 28)further include polymeric bumpers (27, 29) associated therewith forminimizing vibration between the foot bracket (24) and front and rearrods (30, 32).
 9. The seat assembly (10) of claim 1 further includingrear legs (50) pivotally coupled to the seat cushion (12).
 10. The seatassembly (10) of claim 9 wherein the rear legs (50) include a latch hook(56) for releasably connecting the rear legs (50) to the floor of thevehicle.
 11. The seat assembly (10) of claim 9 further including asecond link (60) connected to the front leg (16) at a first end (62) anda rear leg (50) at a second end (64) of the link (60) for pivoting therear legs (50) between support and stowed positions in response topivotal movement of the seat cushion (12) between the seating andforwardly dumped positions.
 12. The seat assembly (10) of claim 1further including a cross member (36) extending between the front legs(16) for stabilizing movement of the front legs (16) between support andstowed positions.
 13. A seat assembly (10) adapted to be coupled tofront and rear rods (20, 32) attached to a floor of a vehicle, the seatassembly (10) comprising: a seat cushion (12); front legs (16) pivotallycoupled to the seat cushion (12); a foot bracket (24) attached at alower end (28) of the front legs (16), the foot bracket (24) comprisingfront and rear hook portions (26, 28) associated with the front and rearrods (30, 32) respectively; a cinching hook (40) attached to the footbracket (24) adjacent the front hook portion (26), the cinching hook(40) and front hook portion (26) cooperating to reversibly engage thefront rod (30); and a first link (44) extending between the seat cushion(12) and the cinching hook (40) wherein movement of the seat cushion(12) between seating and forwardly dumped positions corresponds tomovement of the cinching hook (40) between engaged and disengagedpositions relative to the front rod (30) allowing lateral movement ofthe seat assembly (10) along the front (16) and rear (50) legs.